This invention describes a collapsible and easily transported retaining or containment device that functions as a live well for the storage and preservation of fish. The containment device has been designed to be used primarily by game fishermen, and it is intended to be used from the bank of a stream, the shore of a lake and/or the side of a dock or boat.
Game fish, after being removed from the hook, are typically stored in creels, in live wells, in collapsible baskets and on stringers. Most of the collapsible retaining devices are easily transportable, and some are buoyed to float. U.S. Pat. No. 4,703,577 dated Nov. 3, 1987, which issued to Gubash, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,905,404 dated Mar. 6, 1990, which issued to Pasion et al. are illustrative and typical of containment devices with those features. Other floating, collapsible, fish retaining devices featuring elaborate closing and locking arrangements that appear to fulfill some unmet fishermen""s needs are also described in Sawlsville""s U.S. Pat. No. 4,251,943 dated Feb. 24, 1981 and Nelson et al.""s U.S. Pat. No. 4,890,413 dated Jan. 2, 1990. But, by comparison, the instantly disclosed invention is remarkable for its structural simplicity, ease of transport and facile adaptation to all fishing environments.
Specifically, the invention disclosed herein is a collapsible containment device that can be neatly folded and easily transported by sports fishermen to lakes, rivers and streams and used as a live well for the storage of fish. Essentially, the fish containment device comprises a receptacle having at least one opening for the insertion and removal of fish, and an elongated, tube-like member (hereinafter, simply xe2x80x9ctube memberxe2x80x9d) having an opening at each end. A proximal opening is for inserting fish into the tube member and the distal opening communicates with the opening in the receptacle to permit transferring fish from the tube member into the receptacle for storage.
The disclosed containment device is designed to be neatly folded so that it can be stored in the typical tackle box or hand-carried with pole and bait. In use, the receptacle and the distal end of the tube member are designed to be fully submersible, while the proximal end of the tube member remains out of the water while fish are introduced into the tube member and added to the receptacle. This minimizes the trauma to the stored fish, which can be left undisturbed while most activity resulting from the addition of newly caught fish is confined to the tube member of the device.